The Wollmeise goes to...

Sorry to be a bit late. I am supposed to do it last night but my home broadband was down all night. Luckily the internet has been back this morning.

I used the Random Integer Generator to draw a winner out of 8 participants who left me messages in the Good Karma Giveaway post.






The winner is Silja who picked the Wollmeise Twin in Arlene. Please contact me via email or ravelry message. I will try to get the skein posted this week via First Class post unless you prefer other mode of delivery.

Thanks all for participating and sharing project ideas! For others who haven't won this skein, please don't be too disappointed. I promise I will have another giveaway later. :)

Good Karma Giveaway

As promised earlier, I want to do a giveaway. Today is the day!

Can you guess what they are from their back?

Hint number one: Something starts with W, ends with -meise.

Hint number two: They're from Bavaria, Germany.

Hint number three: Each skein is at least 150g in weight and has an amazing yardage of over 500 metres.

Hint number four: Not buttery soft. But they make the most sturdy socks in the most vibrant colours...

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Yes. They're Wollmeise. I am planning to give away one skein of Wollmeise from my stash.

The first candidate is Wollmeise 100% Merino Superwash in Versuchskaninchen, which means Guinea Pig in German. Claudia (The owner and dyer of Wollmeise) names many of her test skeins as Guinea Pig, so there are many different Wollmeise Guinea Pigs out there. This one is in my favourite fuchsia pink (the close-up pic above shows the true colour better than the top one). In fact it looks EXACTLY the same as my another skein of Wollmeise Twin in Fuchsia colourway in my stash.

This is the third Fuchsia Wollmeise in my stash. The other two skeins have a total of 1000+ metres, enough to make 3 or maybe 4 pairs of Fuchsia socks for me. Therefore I know I will never use this skein.



The second candidate is Wollmeise Twin in We're Different Arlene. A subtle variegated yarn in browns, purples and a bit of burgundy. The real skein looks slightly darker and more subtle than the above close-up photo. I have a big skein of Wollmeise Lace in the same colourway which is destined to be a lace weight cardigan for my mom some time in future. Usually I don't enjoy knitting in the same colourway again, so I know I will never use this skein of Arlene.

Therefore, they deserve a better home with a better knitters to knit them up.

Before telling you how to bring one of them home, there's one important thing:

Since it's a giveaway, I really hope the yarn can find a good home in which it can be knit up instead of being sold away. I'd appreciate if you agree not to sell it or swap it away for another skein. If you happen to find that the colour isn't what you are looking for (I can understand, sometimes it happens), please pass the karma on. Give it away to someone who loves it. Or you can let me know so we can draw another lucky winner who may enjoy having it. By leaving a message to participate in the draw, you agreeing to abide by this little Karma rule. Okay? All good?

Here's what you can do to claim your skein:

1) Leave me a message. Tell me which skein you like to get. If possible, please briefly tell me what you're going to make with it -- just for my curiosity and to make more fun. You're not obliged to tell in order to claim the yarn. But why don't we share some project ideas with others?

2) I will use a random number generator to draw a lucky winner next Sunday (30/1) when I come back from my holiday.

3) I will cover the first class non-recorded postage wherever you're from, as long as Royal Mail sends to your country. If you want to make sure the little beauty arrives safely, I am happy to send via recorded mail, but I'd appreciate if you can cover the additional cost. Sounds fair?

Okay. All good?

Giveaway?

I honestly don't think I have a huge stash. Many ladies I met in knit nights or on Ravelry have FAR bigger stash than I do.

But my flat is small. And I knit way too slow.

More importantly, I feel guilty to possess some very good yarn but not utilize it. Sometimes I feel sad when I look at my stash.

Therefore I am thinking to do a giveaway. In fact I want to do a regular giveaway on bi-monthly or quarterly basis. I hope some lovelies can go to good homes and turn into beautiful hand knits.

Here are some preliminary thoughts:

I haven't decided what to give away yet. But it should include some partial skeins as well as some new gorgeous yarn in balls and hanks, such as Rowan Kidsilk Haze (I have almost 20 balls of KSH in stash!), Fyberspates Scrumptious DK, a sweater worth (2 hanks, 500g, 900 yards) of Cascade Ecological Wool and a skein or two of Wollmeise Sock Yarn. I know I may be able to get back some cash by destashing them on Ravelry. But I believe in good karma.

The first giveaway will be in January, a month full of joy and love. It's the beginning of a brand new year. Both my and DH's birthdays are in January, so as our engagement day. It makes perfect sense to celebrate by doing some giveaways right?